Erdington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Erdington is an area 4 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The formal district comprises the wards of Erdington, Tyburn (formerly Kingsbury), Stockland Green and Kingstanding, although most of Kingstanding ward lies outside the historical boundaries of Erdington.
Contents |
[edit] History
Erdington was mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name Hardintone and for much of its history was part of the parish of Aston. After a brief period as an urban district at the end of the 19th century, it was absorbed into the growing city of Birmingham in 1911.
Erdington shopping centre formed the core of the area with most of the older housing being located close to it. The railway alongside also attracted the development of many Victorian and Edwardian houses.
[edit] Places of interest and facilities
Notable landmarks near Erdington include:
- The Spaghetti Junction, which is situated on the southern edge of the district and on the border of Aston & Gravelly Hill.
- Erdington Library, which was opened in 1907, as a Carnegie library (Erdington Historical Society meets at the Library on the 2nd Monday of every month).
- Fort Dunlop (Home of Dunlop Tyres), (now a shopping centre known as, “The Fort”)
- Erdington village itself with the main Shopping Centre on and round the High Street, the busiest high street in Birmingham[citation needed],
- Erdington Parish Church, in the High Street, a continuation of Sutton Rd,
- The Abbey Church on Sutton Road
- Pype Hayes Park and Pype Hayes Hall, the former home of the Baggot family
- The Old Green Man on Bromford Lane (now known as the Lad in the Lane) one of the oldest public houses in Birmingham
The main shopping centre in Erdington itself is the High Street, which includes an indoor market and several well-known chain stores, as well as independent retailers. Josiah Mason College is a College for adult education.
Erdington is served by the Good Hope Hospital in neighbouring Sutton Coldfield. Erdington is also served by the John Taylor Hospice and by Highcroft Hospital. Highcroft Hospital was a former Poor Law institution, then a Psychiatric hospital. There was a social stigma to being treated there. Other large psychiatric institutions in Birmingham have been broken up [1]. Some of the old Highcroft Hospital grounds have been used for new housing. The main hospital itself has been renovated into luxury apartments and has been named Highcroft Hall.
[edit] Geography
Erdington itself borders the traditionally working class areas of Aston, Perry Barr and Hodge Hill, and the affluent and spacious districts of Sutton Coldfield, Minworth, Castle Bromwich and Water Orton (North Warwickshire). It is located approximately five miles north east of Birmingham City Centre.
The borders of Erdington are:
- Boldmere via the Chester Road
- Stockland Green which borders with Witton at the end of Marsh Hill. (Erdington claims Witton lakes they border Erdington along with Wyrley Birch to separate it from Kingstanding),
- The Yenton and Chester Road form the border from Wylde Green,
- Following Chester Road down all the way to the Tyburn House Public House would end the Erdington constituency as Castle Vale (formerly Castle Bromwich and the Aerodrome) is further down.
- New Oscott past Oscott College
- Walmley (Eachelhurst Road)
- Moving back would be the Tyburn road which intersects Kingsbury road and leads right back to Spaghetti junction on the border of Aston & Gravelly Hill.
Erdington also includes Pype Hayes. This was formerly a working class area of Council Houses built between World War I and World War II. These houses had to be demolished due to problems with the concrete used in their construction. Pype Hayes is now an area with modern houses, some are owner occupied, others belong to Housing associations.
[edit] Population
At the time of the 2001 Census there were 23,853[2] Yentonians, as residents of Erdington were traditionally known. (The term, "Yentonian" is hardly known or used in 21st century Erdington). The area where Chester Rd crosses Birmingham Rd and Sutton Rd is called, “The Yenton”. The population is socially mixed.
Erdington's most famous resident was Josiah Mason, the philanthropist whose bust now stands at the centre of the roundabout at the junction of Chester Road and Orphanage Road, so named because he founded an Orphanage there in 1860.
[edit] Transport
Erdington railway station is on the Birmingham Cross-City Line[3]. Chester Road station, the next station on the same line, lies on the Sutton Coldfield border.
Important roads that access the area include A38 (Chester Road), A5127 (Gravelly Hill) and the A47 Spine Road.
In the southern area of the district is the Birmingham Fazeley Canal which helped develop that area as a major employment sector. The River Tame added to this and with the introduction of the Birmingham - Derby railway line, the area became a prominent industrial area.
[edit] Politics
Erdington has long been dominated by the Labour Party. There was much surprise when Conservative Robert Alden won a seat in Erdington ward de-seating the Labour candidate Susannah McCory. The other two seats in the ward are still Labour held, Jilly Bermingham and Renee Spector are the Labour councillors in the ward.
Erdington has adopted a Ward Support Officer with the current holder of the title being Alison Nicholls. Birmingham Erdington is a constituency, its Member of Parliament is Siôn Simon.
[edit] Cricket clubs
Erdington boasts two cricket teams in its Ward; Highcroft and Great Barr Unity (formed in 2003 following the merge of Highcroft Cricket Club and Great Barr Cricket Club[4]) and Erdington Court[5].
[edit] Rock music
It was formerly home to the famous rock music venue, Mothers (previously the Carlton Ballroom), which from 1968 until it closed in 1971 played host to bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Who[6]. The resident band were Erdington locals The Moody Blues and the DJ was John Peel. The club was located opposite St Barnabus Church on the High Street above a furniture store.
[edit] References
- ^ History of Highcroft Hospital (.ppt file)
- ^ Erdington ward information on Birmingham council website
- ^ Rail Around Birmingham: Erdington Station
- ^ Highcroft and Great Barr Unity Cricket Club: About us
- ^ Erdington Court
- ^ Mothers in Erdington
[edit] Further reading
- The Story of Erdington, 1985, Douglas V. Jones, BIGinINK Ltd (ISBN: 0948025050)
- Erdington, Birmingham, 1991, Mike Green, Stylus Pubns. (ISBN: 1856201627)
[edit] External links
- grid reference SP109918
- Erdington Online
- Erdington Community Network
- Birmingham City Council's Erdington pages
- Erdington library
- Photographs of Erdington
Council constituencies in Birmingham: |
Edgbaston | Erdington | Hall Green | Hodge Hill | Ladywood | Northfield | Perry Barr | Selly Oak | Sutton Coldfield | Yardley |
Settlements on the A38, Birmingham to Derby | edit | |
Heading north: Birmingham | Erdington | Sutton Coldfield | Shenstone | Lichfield | Streethay | Alrewas | Branston | Burton upon Trent | Stretton | Derby |